One Small Step
by Thesegoto11
Summary: A one-off, featuring my friend Scarlet Arachnid's warden. A small step forward in the warden's burgeoning relationship with Leliana.


**A/N: As part of a warden swap, I wrote this one-off using Scarlet Arachnid's warden from her _Longing_ tale (go check it out).**

* * *

Scarlet had lost track of how many mugs of ale she'd had, and purposefully so. Over Alistair's objections, she'd turned their small group loose on a simple country tavern to provide some much needed rest and recreation. Everyone seemed tense of late, and she knew she could use as much drink as she could down before passing out in a comfortable bed. She wanted just one night without the dreams, without seeing herself kill young Oren.

Scarlet sat by herself at a table in a dark corner of the room, eyeing her rapidly emptying mug. Alistair had just stalked off, leaving her with her own company after she'd gone too far drunkenly taunting him about his virginity, casting one last wounded look over his shoulder as he joined Wynne and Sten at another table. _Maybe calling him the Virgin King was a bit much_. She looked around for Leliana. The pretty Orlesian's absence did nothing to enhance Scarlet's increasingly surly mood.

Leliana had been uncharacteristically distant as they traveled that day. That morning Scarlet had overheard Leliana double-checking the date with Wynne, watching Leliana's shoulders sag as she hung back from the others when they'd set off from camp.

Raising her hand to summon the busty bar wench to refill her mug (and maybe a look down her partially unlaced corset), Scarlet caught a glimpse of red hair near the bar. Her arm slowly dropped as she observed Leliana purchase a bottle from the barkeep, grabbing a single glass from the edge of the counter when his eye was elsewhere, and making her way out the door.

Scarlet jumped to her feet, immediately regretting it as the room seemingly tilted under her feet. "Bloody hell," she muttered as she grabbed her chair for balance while she waited for the floor to stop moving. She headed unsteadily for the door, snatching freshly served mug of ale from her fellow warden's hand as she passed by and taking a swallow before continuing on with it towards the door in search of the bard.

Pausing at the doorway to get her bearings, Scarlet scanned the near-empty yard for Leliana. Taking another gulp of ale and wiping her mouth with the back of her hand, she headed outside, looking for the redhead in the darkness. Movement near a rocky outcropping to the side of the tavern caught her eye, and she spotted Leliana perched on one of the stones, moonlight glinting off the bottle tilted up to her mouth. With the exaggerated carefulness of one who has over-indulged, Scarlet made her way towards her.

As she neared her target, Scarlet watched with curiosity as Leliana filled the glass she'd taken, only to pour it out on the stone beneath her feet, saying, " _Atrast tunsha, salroka_.*"

"What?" Scarlet blurted out before she could stop herself. Leliana's head whipped up, surprise mixed with anger written across her features.

"Why are you following me?" Leliana hissed. Scarlet recognized the shared signs of inebriation in the minstrel.

"I. . . I just wanted to talk." Scarlet hated that she stammered, but was at least glad she wasn't slurring her words. Or so she hoped.

Leliana's first response was an appraising look. "Tired of talking with Alistair, are you?"

Sitting down next to Leliana, Scarlet's brow furrowed in drunken concentration, as she tried to parse the meaning beneath the minstrel's words. As she opened her mouth to form a reply, she was interrupted. "Ahhh - is that Antivan plum brandy?"

Two sets of blue eyes shifted to Zevran, who had approached the pair undetected. "Not now, Zevran," warned Scarlet.

The elf raised one brow, a seductive smile playing at his lips. "But how can I resist the company of two such beautiful women, with the added benefit of a bottle of fine plum brandy?"

"Fuck off," growled Scarlet.

Zevran's laughter died in his throat when he looked in the warden's eyes. With a mumbled apology, he backed away, hands held high in surrender.

Satisfied that she was again alone with Leliana, Scarlet reached one hand tentatively to the older woman's cheek, gazing intently into her eyes. "Alistair is my warden brother, Leliana. That is not where my interest lies."

Leliana's hand covered Scarlet's for a moment before bringing the warden's palm to her lips, sending sparks down the warden's spine. "Good to know, _cherie_." Leliana purred, before gently releasing Scarlet's hand and bringing the bottle to her lips once more. "Please remind me of that tomorrow. For now, I owe my friend my undivided attention."

Even through the fog of too much ale, Scarlet understood that she had interrupted something, and with a single nod of her head, she rose to return to the tavern. Pausing at the door before going back in, she took one final look at Leliana, feeling greatly encouraged for the first time in a long while.

*Loosely translated: May you always find your way in the dark, one by my side.


End file.
